6 points about The Silence of the Lambs

The enthralling psychological thriller starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, The silence of the lambs, came out in 1991, but after recently re-watching, I felt it to be necessary to talk about it. This is the perfect feeling after watching any movie, the wish to discuss what you have just witnessed and dive deeper into the nuts and bolts of the movie. So for this reason, I decided to write 6 points about The silence of the lambs. Plus, it was Halloween only 11 days ago, so it sort of makes sense to talk about a horror movie, right? I’m not too late am I?

1. Anthony Hopkins’ performance was fantastic.

Everybody should be able to agree on this one. Anthony Hopkins was absolutely outstanding in this movie. He played Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a former psychiatrist, who turned crazy and then to a cannibal. Hopkins’ portrayal of the crazed cannibal let us see the two personas of Lector, the crazy and animalistic side and the clever, humane side. Many other actors would have perhaps gone over the top and only have let us see how crazy that this character was, but Hopkins’ chilling performance let us see that, inside, Lector was a good man, just trapped inside a mad persons mind. Hopkins fully deserved the Oscar for this year, and his character of Hannibal Lecter was one of the main highlights of the movie.

2. The story-line never failed to excite, impress, horrify and enthrall.

This gripping tale had me hooked from the opening scene. When you step back, and take a look at this movie, you can see how impressive it was. Every nook and cranny of the story had me intrigued and every twist and turn had me shocked. The pure idea that the mental hospital owners had given up on Hannibal and their only idea was to send a rookie into him. Then the dynamic of the storyline and the relationship between Lecter and Jodie Foster’s character constantly had me on the edge of my seat. This uncertainty as to what Lecter might do next, added to the thriller element of the movie, and this seriously gave the movie an intriguing storyline.

3. As I have stated above, the intrigue in this movie was on another level.

This Movie constantly had me intrigued as to what might happen next. This made the whole movie for me, and you never had time to blink. The simple idea of the movie is fantastic and props have to go to everyone involved with the project. Lecter wasn’t the only intriguing character in the movie, as Jodie Foster’s character, Clarice Sterling, offered her own movie stealing moments. It was so interesting to see how she has dealt with the horrors of talking to Lecter, yet she couldn’t resist but to go back. The aura surrounding the crazed killer Buffalo Bill was excellently done also, and one couldn’t help but be intrigued by what this Buffalo Bill guy will be like. This may have been a let-down for some, as Buffalo Bill was an odd character and came off as very cartoonish at times. It was still nice to see a different take on a character such as this, but even we had have waited a bit longer to see Buffalo Bill, in order to keep the interest about him going.

4. The Screenplay was outstanding.

The movie was written by Thomas Harris and Ted Tally, two guys who knew the character of Lecter inside out, and this came across on screen. The dialogue was always enthralling and I was always invested in the characters story’s and background, all thanks to the fantastic screenplay. One of the best I have ever seen, and this thoroughly deserved the Oscar for screenplay in 1991. Unfortunately, these two writers never hit these heights again, but they will always have this masterpiece to be proud of.

5. All the negatives (if any) are very minor.

It’s hard to pick out too much wrong with this movie, but there were a few very minor issues. One of which was Jodie Foster’s dodgy southern accent. It swayed sometimes, and this was off-putting during some of the intense scenes between Clarice Sterling and Lecter. I am only nit-picking here but also, as I previously mentioned, Buffalo Bill did come off as a small bit cartoonish and was a bit of a let-down as to how they built him up to be. Despite this, it was still a very interesting take on a character. Some actors weren’t up to speed with Foster and Hopkins, which is fair enough given the pairs talent, but still came across as annoying at times. For example the government official’s daughter that Bill had kept Hostage, was nowhere up to the standard of Foster in their scene together. This was just one of a few examples, but was no more than a minor issue.

6. Overall, The Silence of the Lambs was brilliant, and deserved every Oscar that it got.

I couldn’t recommend this movie enough, and is one of the best thrillers around. Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster were fantastic in their roles and their characters were always interesting. While not a straight up horror movie, it definitely had enough edge of your seat moments and gore to appease any horror fan, yet wasn’t too over the top for anyone who is light-hearted or squeamish. The screenplay was fantastic and offered a chilling insight into one of cinemas most iconic characters, and gave us some of the most memorable movie quotes of all time. Overall I rate The Silence of the Lambs 9/10. Only losing marks for the few minor shortcomings that I mentioned in point 5 above.